At first, Devon Still didn't think much about the tightness and soreness in his lower leg.
Still had bigger things to worry about. It was January 2014, and Still, an NFL player who grew up in Delaware, just had back surgery to repair a herniated disc while playing for the Cincinnati Bengals. He had stayed in Cincinnati for about a week to recuperate before flying home to Delaware to continue his rehab.
That's when Still started to experience excruciating pain in his chest and ribs.
"I thought it was from the surgery," Still told The Delaware News Journal/Delawareonline.com in an exclusive interview on Oct. 19.
He loosened his back brace that he was required to wear, to no avail. The tightness in his calf was nothing compared to the pain in his chest.
RELATED: Why did Jalen Hurts play with blood clots, no sleep? Eagles coach answers
"I took a nap to try to sleep off the pain," he said. "And then my dad came and picked me up from the hotel, and I went over to his house. And I was in extreme pain just walking through his door to the point that I just fell to the ground, and I just laid on the ground with tears coming out of my eyes."
Still's father convinced him to go to the hospital, as did Still's wife, despite his protests. Those protests only grew louder when there weren't any rooms available, and Still was on a bed in the hallway waiting to be seen.
"My dad was like, ‘No, you’re not going home,’" Still said. "I’m glad he said that because they ended up doing an EKG on me, ultrasound and everything. They ended up finding multiple blood clots in my lungs. They said it traveled up from my calf.
"They said if I didn’t make it (to the hospital) that night, I probably wouldn’t have made it to the morning."
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was originally diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in his calf, and played through it against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 11 after spending most of the night before in a London hospital.
On Oct. 14, a second ultrasound revealed that the clot had "moved," according to the Eagles' statement, released in conjunction with Hurts' agent, Nicole Lynn, the following day.
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Hurts was ruled out of the Eagles' next game, on Oct. 18 against the Carolina Panthers. Then on Oct. 17, Hurts was placed on injured reserve, meaning he would have to miss at least four games.
Two days later, the Eagles and Lynn released a second statement saying that the clots in his calf had moved through his veins to both of his lungs. Hurts is not expected to play again this season as he begins a regimen of blood thinners. He has to avoid contact sports while on blood thinners.
The statement said Hurts is expected to make a full recovery and resume his football career once he's off the blood thinners.
Jalen Hurts' diagnosis brings back memories
All of this brought back memories for Still. He not only was told that he could have died, he was also told that if the blood thinners didn't remove the clots that he would have to retire from football.
Both situations were grim for Still, a defensive tackle who starred at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, then at Penn State before becoming a second-round pick of the Bengals in 2012.
"I felt like I was fighting two deaths at the time," Still said. "Obviously, I was shocked when the doctors found the blood clots, and they told me that I could have died by the morning. It’s like you get smacked in the face with real life in that moment.
"And then you're hearing that you also may have to retire from football. So it’s like another part of my life was at risk now. That was my identity in football. So it was a lot to really to take in at the time."
As it turned out, Still said he was on blood thinners for three or four months, and that got rid of the clots. But Still got another devastating blow a few months after that when his daughter, Leah, then 3 years old, was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma.
Still said his daughter, now 16, has been cancer free for 11 years. Still’s NFL career ended in 2017. He is currently an advocate for families dealing with pediatric cancer. He is also an author, motivational speaker and podcast host (see devonstill.com for more information).
With the news about Jalen Hurts' blood clots and the frustration fans have with Michael Robinson for saying he was faking his initial injury, I want to share my story. Blood clots almost ended my career and life, and people need to understand how serious they are.
— Devon Still (@devonjstill) October 19, 2026
All of those memories came rushing back when Still heard about Hurts' diagnosis. That included anger at how Hurts' situation was handled, especially when Hurts was cleared to play against the Jaguars.
The Eagles' first statement, on Oct. 15, said the superficial blood clot wasn't discovered until Hurts and the team arrived in London on Oct. 10.
ESPN reported that Hurts was in a London hospital until 4 a.m. on Oct. 11, and that doctors told him not to sleep. A later report from The Ringer said Hurts did get some sleep after leaving the hospital. In addition, a separate room was set up for Hurts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he could rest in the few hours before the game.
'Someone within the organization dropped the ball'
Hurts wasn't on the field for warmups, jogging out just before the game started. Hurts said on Oct. 14 that he stayed inside to rest.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to him because I know what was at risk just from what I went through," Still said. "And obviously, someone within the organization dropped the ball. Obviously, an investigation needs to happen to find out who dropped the ball. And there needs to be consequences to those actions because he could have died, even if it did start out as a superficial blood clot.
"I saw reports saying he played because movement is necessary with a superficial blood clot. But movement could have been riding an exercise bike instead of playing in an NFL game, and then he was getting on a plane after that."
Hurts played the entire game and led the Eagles to a go-ahead field goal with 8 seconds left. The Jaguars then returned the ensuing kick 53 yards to the Eagles' 39 yard line with 1 second left. That was enough time for the Jaguars to kick the game-winning field goal, sending the Eagles to a 19-17 loss.
Hurts threw for 220 yards, on little to no sleep.
"It doesn’t surprise me at all," Still said about why Hurts played. "I know the culture of sports. And it’s not just professional sports. Even at the college level, the amount of pressure that coaches might be under to win right now, and that puts pressure on the doctors to clear players who shouldn’t be playing, and that puts pressure on the players to want to go out there and play because they know what’s on the line.
"They want to seem tough. They don’t want to let their teammates down. So we make a lot of decisions that we probably shouldn’t make that puts our health at risk."
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Oct. 19, when asked why Hurts traveled to London and played in the game, that "the health of our players is always at the forefront of our minds, and we leave that up to the medical experts.
"But we always, always care deeply about our players. When you are completely focused on together and connection, you're always thinking about the well-being of your guys, and that's where we were in that situation."
As for Still's situation, he said for the first year after his clots were diagnosed, he would go on blood thinners as a precaution for when he had surgery, and he would take aspirin when he got on a plane.
After that, Still was in the clear. He hopes Hurts will be, too, and that no other player is put at risk.
"The NFL and the NFL Players Association are going to have to do a deep dive into this," Still said. "They can’t gloss over it. And hopefully, it leads to some type of change."
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the "Eye On The Eagles" newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Blood clots nearly killed Delaware NFL veteran. He prays for Jalen Hurts | Exclusive
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